Rueben's Ramblings

Hey All,

Here are the news items for today:

TELEVISION

Actor JR Bourne (Teen Wolf) has landed a recurring role on Revenge when the soap returns for its second season on ABC. He will play Raymond, a magnetic, self-assured, Hamptons resident who tries to hide his rough edges behind his fancy clothes and Mercedes. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

Perception has been renewed for second season on TNT with 13 new episodes slated to air in 2013. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

Actor Michael Mosley (Pan Am) has joined the cast of this fall’s new ABC thriller Last Resort. The new series follows a renegade crew of a nuclear submarine, led by Andre Braugher (Men of a Certain Age), who goes on the run after defying an order to fire nuclear missiles. They find sanctuary at a NATO base, where they declare themselves the world’s smallest nuclear nation. Mosley will play Chief Engineer Anders, one of the crew aboard the U.S.S. Colorado who is put under pressure when Marcus (Braugher) orders him to turn on a prototype cloaking device named Perseus. The series debut on September 27 at 8 PM on ABC. (Natalie Abrams at TV Guide)

Actress Majandra Delfino (Roswell and State of Georgia) has been cast to play the sister of Dwight Schrute (Rainn Wilson) on the spinoff project for The Office. The spin-off is to be called The Farm; and Delfino will play Fannie Schrute, Dwight’s younger sister who once fled the family farm for Boston but is back, divorced and with a child. (Nellie Andreeva at TV Line)

Actor Jeff Fahey (Lost) will guest star in an early episode of the new fall NBC drama Revolution as a character named Hutch. Few other details are available at this time on his character. Revolution revolves around a post apocalyptic Earth where, 15 years prior, “the lights went out,” forcing people to make do without electricity and other power sources. Billy Burke (the Twilight franchise) plays a former military type who leads a band of survivors and Giancarlo Esposito (Breaking Bad) as the enforcer for a dictatorship which has taken over parts of America. The series is set to debut on September 17 at 10 PM. (Matt Mitovich at TV Line)

DEVELOPMENT NEWS

ABC has given script orders to three very different drama projects. The first is Finn & Sawyer, a contemporary take on Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. This project is an adventure-themed reinvention that revolves around the two famed literary characters who re-meet as young men in their 20s and form an investigative firm in a bustling and steampunk New Orleans. Second, the network has also picked up The Outsiders, a family drama pitch from Smallville’s Ken Biller. The project is inspired by a true story and revolves around a woman who moves with her family from Atlanta to New York to start a new life and ends up becoming the de-facto mother to nine underprivileged kids. Lastly, ABC has bought the supernatural mystery drama called Gothica from Matt Lopez (Race to Witch Mountain). The project centers on a woman searching for her own identity in modern-day San Francisco who delves into a world of supernatural mystery and horror, guided by an enigmatic playboy named Dorian Gray. (Lesley Goldberg at The Hollywood Reporter)

CONDOLENCES

Blockbuster film director Tony Scott passed away over the weekend. Sadly, his body was found after an apparent jump from the Vincent Thomas Bridge spanning the Los Angeles Harbor in San Pedro. He was 68. (Variety and E! News)

Emmy winning actor William Windom passed away late last week from congestive heart failure. He was 88. (The Wrap)

Comedian Phyllis Diller has passed away. She was 95. (The Wrap)

ME: Rest in Peace, Mr. Scott, Mr. Windom and Ms. Diller. Condolences are extended to their families, friends and fans.

MOMENT OF SILENCE, PLEASE…

BOX OFFICE NEWS

It looks like an all-female take on The Expendables is being developed with Dutch Southern set as the writer. No other details are available at this time; but let the speculation begin as to which kick-ass actresses would be cast in this film. (Jeff Sneider at Variety)

Actress Marianne Jean-Baptiste (Without A Trace) is set to play Karen Dean, the Detroit Chief of Police, in the remake of Robocop that stars Joel Kinnaman (The Killing) in the lead role. Other cast members include Hugh Laurie, Samuel L. Jackson and Gary Oldman. (Dark Horizons)

Here are the top 10 box offices movies for this past weekend from Box Office Mojo:

1. The Expendables 2 – 28.7 million
2. The Bourne Legacy – 17 million
3. ParaNorman – 14 million
4. The Campaign – 13.4 million
5. Sparkle – 12 million
6. The Dark Knight Rises – 11.1 million
7. The Odd Life of Timothy Green – 10.9 million
8. Hope Springs – 9.1 million
9. Dairy of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days – 3.9 million
10. Total Recall – 3.5 million

That’s it. Enjoy!

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Hey All,

Here are the news items for today:

TELEVISION

Actor Jeffrey Nordling (24 and Body of Proof) will guest star in an upcoming episode of Necessary Roughness, playing a media relations guru named Glen Purlman. The team encounters a major crisis and only Purlman’s PR expertise can get them out of it. The show airs its mid-season finale on August 29 and will be back with more new episodes this winter. (Megan Masters at TV Line)

Actress Tina Majorino (Veronica Mars and Napoleon Dynamite) will have a guest starring role on Grey’s Anatomy, but no details are available on what her role will be in the show. The long-running medical drama will return for a new season on ABC starting on September 27. (Natalie Abrams at TV Guide)

Actor Ciarán Hinds (Rome and Political Animals) will guest star as Mance Rayder on Game of Thrones, who is the leader of wildings. Season 3 of Game of Thrones is set to premiere March 31, 2013. (Matt Mitovich at TV Line)

ABC Family has given a third season pick-up to its sitcom Melissa & Joey, a second season pick-up to comedy Baby Daddy and the drama Switched At Birth and a back-order pick-up for Bunheads. But the bad news is that the network has opted to cancel the drama Jane By Design. (TV By the Numbers)

Actor Enver Gjokaj (Dollhouse) will be guest starring in the new CBS drama Made in Jersey, playing U.S. attorney Tommy Ligand and the ex-boyfriend of the lead character Martina (Janet Montgomery), a working-class woman trying to make it as a first-year associate at an uber-competitive prestigious law firm in New York. Made in Jersey will debut on September 28. (Lesley Goldberg at The Hollywood Reporter)

MATT’S INSIDE LINE [AKA INSIDE SCOOP ON FALL TV] (with Matt Mitovich at TV Line)

Question: News about Mad Hatter/Jefferson? – @RumpleFacts

Mitovich: When I recently spoke to Sebastian Stan (currently playing a different kind of a bad boy on Political Animals), he was totally game to take another trip down the ABC drama’s rabbit hole. “I love that character, and it’s a great show – a very different thing than I’ve ever done,” he raved. “So if the timing works out, maybe!” The better news: The timing worked out. A well-placed source assures me that the manic milliner “is indeed coming back” in Season 2 (premiering Sept. 30).

Question: With Brian Dietzen being promoted to series regular (on NCIS), does this mean we’ll see more of him in Season 10?

Mitovich: Show boss Gary Glasberg told me that Dietzen’s upgrade “was simply long overdue, and something we’d been talking about for a very long time.” The intimation of a steadier presence for Palmer just so happens to make sense storyline-wise, as Ducky is forced to take new stock of life after his season-ending health scare. “Palmer also has an eye-opening experience in the first few episodes [starting Sept. 25], where he really has to step up his game and recognize his own strengths and weaknesses,” Glasberg previews. “He’s basically the acting coroner, and it’s a lot to take on — and that will carry over in the way he handles himself and the rest of the team.”

That’s it. Enjoy!

Have a terrific weekend!

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